Advance Auto Parts vs Sonic Automotive
Sonic Automotive reported revenue of $15.2 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.8 times Advance Auto Parts' $8.6 billion in fiscal 2025. Advance Auto Parts' revenue fell 5.4% in its latest year, and Sonic Automotive's grew 6.5%. Advance Auto Parts had an operating margin of -0.5%, against 2.4% at Sonic Automotive. Free cash flow was −$298 million at Advance Auto Parts and $418 million at Sonic Automotive. Their fiscal years end in different months (January 3 and December 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Advance Auto Parts | Sonic Automotive | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Jan 3, 2026 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $8.6B | $15.2B |
| Revenue growth | −5.4% | 6.5% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | −3.2% | 9.2% |
| Gross margin | 43.4% | 15.7% |
| Operating margin | −0.5% | 2.4% |
| Net margin | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Free cash flow | −$298M | $418M |
| Free cash flow margin | −3.5% | 2.8% |
| Return on capital | −1.5% | 12.2% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 1.3x | 3.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $60M | $131M |
| Change in diluted share count | 1.2% | −0.9% |
| Last close | $46.60 | $61.26 |
| P/E at the last close | 34.0× | 9.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $390,762 | bought $6.0 million, sold $9.6 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 9 | 6 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Advance Auto PartsSonic Automotive
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Advance Auto PartsSonic Automotive
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Advance Auto PartsSonic Automotive
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Advance Auto Parts and Sonic Automotive pages.